Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Tuesday cheered the use of what The New York Times called “unconventional treatments” for measles, noting that Texas doctors had seen “very, very good” results using the remedies during the recent measles outbreak in Gaines County.
Treatments included cod liver oil — a food-based source of vitamin A and vitamin D — budesonide, a steroid used to relieve inflammation affecting the airways, and clarithromycin, an antibiotic.
In an exclusive interview with The Defender, Dr. Ben Edwards shared the backstory on the positive results that he and other Texas doctors have recently seen using those treatments in responding to the West Texas measles outbreak.
The “standard of care” treatment for measles is supportive care including fever reducers, cough suppressants and fluids, Edwards said. Texas Medical Board Rule 200 allows for Texas physicians to also offer “complementary and alternative” treatment options, in which he is well versed.
According to Edwards, the Feb. 26 death of a Texas child who tested positive for measles might have been prevented if hospital staff had given her breathing treatments, such as budesonide.
“Budesonide has historically been used in asthma exacerbations,” Edwards said, “but during COVID, many physicians learned of its very beneficial role in treating the inflammation triggered by respiratory viruses.”
Edwards is an integrative medicine family practitioner in Lubbock who runs a private practice serving roughly 2,000 patients. Lubbock is about an hour and a half north of Gaines County, where the current case number is highest, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS).
On Saturday, March 2, Edwards received a call from Gaines County resident Tina Siemens. “Tina said that little girl who died, her parents were real worried about the four other siblings that were all younger. Could I come see them?”
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